Finding the Bay
by Southwitch
Summary: When Dr.Horrible finds an interesting piece of mail, he realizes that he has to make a decision that could end his evil career! Sequel to 'Here's a Story'
1. Mail Day

**Hey folks! I'm back with another story, the sequel to Here's a Story! This one is going to be all from 's point of view so I hope you all like it! R&R! Enjoy!**

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><p>Hey...I'm Billy Howser. You might know me as Dr. Horrible, card-carrying member of the ELE that rules southern California with an iron fist? Yeah...that's me.<p>

I'm an idiot. Let's face it, I am. I always put the things I want over what others need...especially her...I don't even know what happened to her. One day she just disappeared then I never saw or heard from her again.

So what else could I do? I had to go on with my life but it seemed so pointless without her. I mean...I knew that she didn't like evil, she tried to work around it but after a week she couldn't handle it.

Probably the best week I've ever had.

And I ruined it.

I don't even know if wishful thinking even helps. I'm a scientist; I should have known that there could never really be room for a personal life. Yeah, we tracked her down. We know she's in New York but I know there is no way she could still love me...she probably hates me. I resigned myself to that.

Well then this happened.

I was in my factory working on creating a massive AI to run the factory so I could expand and branch out. I plan to build a large wall around the city to make sure I could finally assume full control of it. The wall would make it impossible to get in or out without my clearance.

I was designing the AI's main core system when Moist, my sidekick, came in. He looked like he was in a panic.

"Doc! You just got this!" He handed me a letter, it looked like any other letter. There was one main difference though.

"Couldn't you have just given it to me with the rest of my mail?" I lifted an eyebrow as he handed it to me.

"No Doc, this is big. It's from New York."

"What?" I froze, my headshot down to the letter, I opened the envelope, nearly ripping it away. All that was inside was a single picture.

It was of a little girl. She couldn't have been older than three or four. Her eyes were bright blue and her hair was a strawberry blonde. She had a toothy grin and was holding a balloon in what looked like central park.

I turned the picture around and read what was clearly Penny's handwriting.

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><p><em>'Emma Sherman. Your daughter.'<em>

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><p>I was floored. I had a daughter...how was it possible? Well I knew how but it shocked me but I didn't know what to do.<p>

"Moist...I have a daughter." I looked up at my friend. His jaw it the floor. I couldn't tell if I were smiling or crying.

"What? Penny had a kid and didn't tell you?" Moist looked at the picture. "She looks like Penny. She's got your eyes though." He examined the picture.

Penny had a baby and I never knew...I just kept staring at the photo. I had a decision to make. I could move forward with my plans or abandon everything to find my daughter...my mind was split. This really was my last option. Clearly she wanted me to know our daughter but at the same time, did she want me too? Or just my presence? I was stuck in California. I knew I couldn't leave without abandoning my position at the Evil League of Evil.

I had to think.

"Moist...I need to talk to Sid Sherman...Penny's cousin. You remember her?" I asked.

"Yeah I guess." Moist shrugged, not totally understanding my thought process.

"Go get her. I need to talk to her about Emma." I said. Emma...my daughter's name is Emma...it felt weird saying it.

"Okay. Sure, whatever you need Billy." Moist nodded before rushing out.

All I could do now was wait

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><p><strong>So now Doc knows! What's he going to do about it? Well just wait and see! R&amp;R! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	2. We're family now

**Back with another chapter! Sorry it's taken so long! I keep wanting to tweak each chapter so it's taken me a bit! Anyways, here you go! Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Within two hours, Sid had been located and brought to the factory. She struggled against her robot captors and probably wondered all the more what was happening now.<p>

I looked at myself in the mirror. I knew that if I went to her as Dr. Horrible she might not speak to me so I decided against it. I wore my plain clothes; hopefully she would talk to me this way. I felt strange being out of my lab coat. Ever since I had become a member of the ELE I had nearly lived in the red lab coat. Today though, was one of the few I told myself I would go without it.

I entered my office where Sid was struggling against a rope that had tied her hands to a chair. Unfortunately, Sid was now on the floor as a result.

"Sid!" I rushed to her, kneeling down beside her to help untie her. "I'm sorry, I told them not to tie you up. Sometimes the change command button doesn't work…the robots...they are still a work in progress." I fumbled to help her up.

"What do you want Billy?" Sid brushed herself off. I ran over to my desk to pull Emma's picture out. I held it up in front of her face desperately with my hands.

"Her. Is she really my daughter?" I looked into Sid's eyes. I needed to know. Instantly her expression softened.

"Yeah, she's a lot like you...minus the evil and stuff." Sid smiled at the picture.

"She is?" I looked at it again, trying to find the details that could prove it once and for all.

"She's a genius." Sid nodded. "Emma is so far ahead of her preschool class that they are thinking of bumping her up to the second grade already! She's four! I've never even heard of anybody that smart."

"Except me..." I gaped. "Why did she send me this picture?" I was still confused, happy that my daughter was probably as smart, if not smarter than me. I had to help her."

"Well...I didn't actually think she'd go through with it." Sid shrugged. "Penny was talking all about how she doesn't know how to handle Emma's education. She figured since you lived it, you might know." Sid looked up at me with a smile. It reminded me of Penny's...then again, lots of things that Sid would do reminded me of her cousin.

"So do I go to New York? Can you give me Penny's address so I can find her? She needs help and I need to meet my daughter!" I nodded, feeling more determined than ever.

"I couldn't tell you. She won't even give me the address. I guess she figured this might happen someday. You'd have to go to New York and find her yourself. If you find her though, can you send her address my way? I miss her." Sid asked, "I have a job now so I've got the money saved up and ready to see her." She smiled, very proud of herself. I remember Penny saying that Sid had been fired from her orchestra job and had been fired then she worked for The Game for a while...apparently that didn't pan out either.

"I will, if I go that is." I looked at Emma again; she had a toothy smile and tiny freckles. I got this strange feeling in my chest and I couldn't decipher it entirely.

"Why is this a maybe?" Sid asked. "I thought you wanted to see Emma."

"I know...I don't know if I can see Penny though. It's been five years...out of nowhere...she sends me this and I don't even know what I want anymore. What can I do? Emma...she needs me...Penny...not so much. If she needed me, she wouldn't have left me..." I frowned.

"That wasn't her fault. Sorry she couldn't suck it up after watching you blow up a building. Innocent people died in there because of you and it's her fault! Do you think you could live with yourself in the same situation?" Sid reasoned with me, looking at me like I'm some sort of idiot. She took a step back. "That's right! Of course you wouldn't. You're evil. Penny's good. Naturally that distinction of personalities might get in the way of any relationship." Sid went off on me. "Like...doing the wrong quest will accidentally change your alignment and well...she's a Knight of Good, if a temporary one, she couldn't go down that quest line."

"What?" I was thrown by Sid's odd analogy, Penny had rarely mentioned The Game beyond the occasional 'Yeah...me and Sid played for a while.' I actually thought it was a puzzle game until the just now.

"It wasn't going to work out, there was no way. I was happy she found somebody...the results were great...but you know...it was destined to fail. Unless one of you changed and I know it wasn't going to be Penny." Sid was truthful and it stung...no matter how right she was. I wasn't willing to simply give up though.

"Thanks Sid...I think I know what I have to do. You can go now. Thanks again for your help." I shook her hand.

"No problem. We are family you know. If you need any help, you know where to find me. Just...next time...can you call first before having your robots kidnap me?" Sid chuckled before leaving.

I sat in my office for a while, pondering what I should do. I love Penny…I don't think I ever stopped…now Emma…she needs me. Everything I ever wanted is here. I'm apart of an evil EMPIRE, I'm about to break ground on the biggest evil project of my life, I'm so close to figuring out how to make Moist's powers useful! I truly couldn't decide if it were at all worth it…Penny had been fine for so long…why now?

I had to help her…this was my last chance…

Well now I knew what I had to do. All I needed was a plan and to tell the ELE...

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><p><strong>So there you have it! Billy is going to give up evil...or will he chicken out? R&amp;R! Can't wait to post another chapter!<strong>

**Jenny**


	3. A New Life

**Hey there folks! I am going to be honest, I have been an awful author. I have had this chapter ready for a while now and I think it's about time it was posted. This is going to be the last chapter of this section of the story, the final part will be heading your way in 2012! See you there! Happy Holidays everybody! **

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><p>I'm giving up evil...it feels weird to say it out loud. I guess this is it. I'm standing in front of the ELE's main building. It scrapes the sky above LA, sort of looming like a silent guardian.<p>

If guardians were out to kill you that is...

I walked in cautiously, tugging on the collar of my red lab coat. I realized in that moment, this could actually be the last time I would wear this lab coat. I don't know what I could possibly wear now. I still feel like the usual jacket and t-shirt are too close to my persona...I couldn't be Billy anymore...they would be looking for me.

The ELE would surely come after me. I wish that there would be an easier way. I slowly walked inside and put my resignation on the front desk. I ran out and headed for the LoC building.

Actually...it was not so much a building as a large airship a number of miles away from the city. I'm still not sure how to even get inside...awkward.

I just began to stand under it, wondering what could be happening up there or if something could possibly happen any time soon.

Just as I was about to walk away though, a beam of light surrounded me like in some bad B movie version of an alien movie. Before I knew it, I was floating up in the sky and I was in the League of Champions ship.

When the bottom of the ship closed the members of the League ambushed me. They attacked me with their powers; Elementia froze my legs to the floor. They didn't realize that I had come unarmed.

"Wait!" I shouted, "I'm not here to attack or anything like that!" I slipped out of my boots seeing as Elementia had only frozen my shoes. I dropped to my knees. "I need your help."

"Why would we help a villain like you!" Wingspan crossed his arms and looked at me with a dark scowl. "You have ruined our reputation! All the other superhero leagues make fun of us now!" He began to sound like a child.

"Love..." I begged like a fool. "Love for the daughter I never knew about. I want to find her and set a good example. I don't want her to ask about her mother and me to have to tell her that her father is Dr. Horrible. I have abandoned my position at the ELE. I need a new identity, a new everything and most importantly, I need to run." I was on my knees begging for dear life.

"Why should we help you? Aren't you the villain who took out Captain Hammer?" Elementia crossed her arms.

"Yes. But I don't want to be anymore. Evil...it was my life and my dreams before last week because I got a letter last week." I pulled out Emma's picture from my pocket. "This is my daughter Emma. Five years ago, the love of my life left me and had her, I never knew she existed. Emma is also a genius. She needs to learn to harness that mental strength for something good. I can't teach her that if I'm not around." I then pulled out my ELE membership card and snapped it in half. " I'm done with evil." The two heroes looked at each other with surprise and then me.

"Fine. Under one condition." Elementia nodded. I instantly agreed. "You are doing this our way."

They grabbed me and took me into their lab, it wasn't as sophisticated as mine but I'm sure it could do just a much if it needed to. They pulled out a suit and told me to wear it. Over the next two days, they used their machines to change my memories. Unhappy childhood ones were now replaced with awesome ones.

Eventually I had forgotten my old persona altogether.

The heroes told me that in order to protect me, I couldn't act like me anymore. I instead, would have my memories locked away in my mind and new ones would temporarily replace them.

All I had to do was act the part until I found Penny. I knew it would take some time so Wingspan told me to start a new life with a large fund of money they would give me. I'd work for a company that funds them so I would have a nice cover. My life would be set.

In my spare time, I could go searching for my family.

My name isn't Billy Howser. Not anymore anyways.

They called their new creation Barney Stinson. They got the name from a man who had died...apparently we look very similar. I'm going to fit into his new life now. His friends don't know he is dead, they just know that he had gone on a vacation for a while. I'll come back in his place. From what I have seen of him, he is my polar opposite...I don't know how but I have to pull this off.

I have to be three simple things

1. Set with my convictions

2. Good at dodging questions

3. Legen...wait for it...dary!

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><p>Far away from 'Barney's' knowledge, the ELE had a plan of their own.<p>

"You want to take his place Whirlmind?" Bad Horse's voice boomed from seemingly nowhere. "Track Dr. Horrible down and end him. You will go under the civilian alias of Nora. Do you understand?" A dark haired woman stood at the edge of the table in the ELE's main war room.

"Yes Bad Horse, I'll do anything. I'll bring you proof in due time." Whirlmind nodded, a gust blowing the doors shut behind her. She had a mission to carry out.

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><p><strong>Yup! Barney Stinson has been born! For any HIMYM fans out there, you know exactly where this is going! R&amp;R! See you next year!<strong>


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